Social Media - Kids - What To Do?...

[lisash123]

Hi Everyone,

My 11 year old keeps asking me for Facebook & Instagram accounts and I keep saying no because I'm afraid he'll post something that might harm his reputation - or worse. There is so much out there about adults posting content with very negative consequences, so as parents how can we be confident our children won't do the same?

Colleges and employers are increasingly using social media as a means of screening applicants so your child could make a social media blunder today that could haunt them forever (see links at the bottom).

How are you handling this challenge?

Thanks,

Lisa

P.S. Here are the links to social media horror stories children created, and how colleges/employers are screening applicants' social media profiles:

Students Suspended Over Facebook Posts:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/students-suspended-expelled-over-facebook-posts/517[/url]

Social Media Haunts Many College Athletes:
http://highschoolsports.oregonlive.com/news/article/2440793468800936292/high-school-athletes-learn-that-social-media-profile-can-come-back-to-haunt-them/[/url]

Employers Screen Applicants via Social Media
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/employers-use-facebook-to-pre-screen-applicants_n_1441289.html[/url]

Colleges Screen Applicants via Social Media
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/is_the_admissions_office_googling_you_more_colleges_screening_applicants_online_profiles.html[/url]

 

[Emily92]

My daughter started pestering me for a Facebook account when she turned a teenager. I guess it was because of peer pressure of her friends or whatever but she was after my life for it. Initially I said no, but then agreed as far as certain conditions were followed. First and foremost, I should have the credentials, i.e. her user ID and password for the same. Secondly, there will be a fixed time duration everyday, say 15 minutes or something, for logging onto the social media platform. She was happy and satisfied with these conditions and it's been almost 3 years now that she has had her account on facebook and no trouble. In the beginning, I did check her profile and all quite often but then eventually stopped since everything seemed to be going on well. Now, she and I are friends on Facebook!

 

[Dan_Bukowski]

Hello Lisa. We broke down and allowed our 10 year old son to have an Instagram account. We had and continue to have the talk as what and what not to share on all social media. He knows if he acts inappropriately on social media, it goes away. He also knows his devices (phone, tablet) will be taken away as well. The experience for him and us has been positive so far because we set the ground rules and he is sticking to them.

 

[cybele]

My rule is pretty bluntly, instagram and facebook say 13 in their terms and conditions, if you want one earlier than sucks to be you.

 

[TabascoNatalie]

We do have an anonymous/family facebook account for kids so they can access games on iPad. So far they're only interested in games, so i don't worry that much.

 

[page16]

Things are changing so fast, when we were teenagers, facebook wasn't there yet or it was there but not as popular as it is today. Our parents didn't have to worry about us asking for a facebook account.

Times have changed, and you need to take that into consideration. Just like we wanted the things that were popular among our classmates, likewise today's teens want what is popular and among other things, that's facebook.

I'd stick to the rules though. If 13 is the minimum age, then they shouldn't have their personal account until they're 13

 

[JCatano]

I know this is an older thread, but I started one about our social media filter application for real-time monitoring.

Here's the link to the thread or just look for "My Social Sitter" in the Parenting Products subforum.

http://www.parentingforums.org/showthread.php?t=15400